The present invention relates to a substrate mounting apparatus for mounting a substrate on which electronic parts are provided, and to a substrate mounting apparatus capable of surely supporting a substrate even if an electronic circuit unit frame for accommodating the substrate is deflected by the weight of the substrate, for example.
FIG. 14 is a sectional side view showing a part of a conventional substrate mounting apparatus disclosed in the Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Publication No. Hei 11-238981, for example. In FIG. 14, the reference numeral 20 denotes a removable substrate which is plate-shaped, is provided with a printed wiring (not shown) and has a plurality of electronic parts (not shown) mounted thereon. The reference numeral 21 denotes an electronic circuit unit frame (which will be hereinafter referred to as a shelf) for accommodating the substrate 20 in a predetermined mounting position, in which the substrate 20 is inserted in an insertion direction A through a substrate insertion port on the left side in the drawing. The reference numeral 22 denotes a spring having one of ends fixed to a groove portion 21a provided on the upper face portion side of the shelf 21.
The reference numeral 23 denotes an upper guide rail having an upper guide groove 23a fixed to an internal side wall on the upper face portion side of the shelf 21 and opened on the lower side. The upper guide groove 23a is formed by a groove bottom portion 23b and groove side walls 23c and 2d. The groove bottom portion 23b is supported vertically movably through the groove side walls 23c and 23d and is fixed to the other end of the spring 22. The reference numeral 24 is a lower guide rail which has a lower guide groove 24a opened on the upper side and is fixed to a bottom face portion of the shelf 21. The reference numeral 24b denotes a dent portion provided on a bottom face of the lower guide groove 24a, and the reference numeral 24c denotes a projection provided on the bottom face of the lower guide groove 24a. The reference numeral 25 denotes a backboard substrate to be a connecting portion to which the substrate 20 is connected. When the substrate 20 is accommodated in the shelf 21, a connector 25a and a connector 20a of the substrate 20 are connected to each other.
Next, an operation will be described with reference to the drawings. When the substrate 20 is to be mounted, upper and lower side edge portions of the substrate 20 are inserted into the upper and lower guide grooves 23a and 24a respectively so that the substrate 20 is moved toward the mounting direction A side. At this time, the projection 24c of the lower guide rail 24 abuts on a lower end of the substrate 20, and the bottom face of the lower guide groove 24a of the lower guide rail 24 abuts on the projection 20b of the substrate 20. Consequently, in the state in which the substrate 20 is shifted more upward as compared with the time that the insertion is completed, only the groove bottom portion 23b of the upper guide rail 23 is pushed upward against the force of the spring 22 energizing the spring force in an extension direction.
When the substrate 20 is further slid in the insertion direction A in this state, the projection 20b of the substrate 20 is fitted in the dent portion 24b and the projection 24c is fitted in the dent portion 20c of the substrate 20. At the same time, the connector 25a is connected to the connector 20a of the substrate 20. Thus, the substrate 20 is completely mounted. When the mounting operation is completed, the upper and lower positions of the bottom portion 23b of the upper guide groove 23a are placed in lower parts as compared with the middle of the insertion of the substrate 20. Also in that state, the spring 22 energizes the bottom portion 23b downward by some force.
Thus, the dent 20b and the projection 20c of the substrate 20 are fitted in the dent 24b and the projection 24c of the lower guide rail portion 24 respectively, and the spring 22 energizes the substrate 20 downward through the bottom portion 23b. Therefore, the substrate 20 is supported by the upper guide rail portion 23 and the lower guide rail portion 24. Accordingly, even if a vibration is applied from the outside, it is possible to prevent the substrate 20 from being moved toward the discharge direction B side and slipping down.
Since the conventional substrate mounting apparatus has the above-mentioned structure, the substrate 20 can be prevented from moving toward the discharge direction B side but cannot fully be prevented from falling down in a lateral direction. More specifically, when a plurality of substrates 20 are mounted on the shelf 21, the bottom portion side of the shelf 21 is deflected downward by the weight of the substrates 20 as shown in FIG. 15. In some cases in which the substrate mounting apparatus is to be installed in a higher position (not shown) or an adjusting work is to be carried out, some of the substrates 20 are supported on the upper and lower guide rails 23 and 24 and the connector 20a is not connected to the connector 25a. In such a state, structural reinforcement by the connection between the connectors is reduced so that the amount of deflection is increased. If the amount of deflection is greater than the heights of the side walls 23b and 23c of the upper guide groove 23a, the substrate 20 gets out of the upper guide groove 23a of the upper guide rail 23 and falls down in the lateral direction. There is a problem in that electronic parts provided on the falling substrate 20 or electronic parts provided on the adjacent substrates 20 are damaged.
The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problem and has an object to provide a substrate mounting apparatus in which mounted substrates neither fall down nor slip down and are not damaged even if the number of substrates to be mounted on a shelf is increased and the amount of deflection of a bottom plate of the shelf becomes larger.
In order to eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks, the present invention provides a substrate mounting apparatus comprising an electronic circuit unit frame for accommodating a removable substrate provided with electronic parts in a predetermined mounting position, an upper guide rail having an upper guide groove provided from a substrate insertion port of the electronic circuit unit frame to the vicinity of the mounting position and supported vertically movably on an upper face portion of the electronic circuit unit frame, a lower guide rail having a lower guide groove portion provided from the substrate insertion port to the vicinity of the mounting position and fixed to a bottom face portion of the electronic circuit unit frame with a predetermined space formed together with the upper guide rail, and space holding means formed integrally with the upper and lower guide rails for holding the predetermined space.
In the substrate mounting apparatus according to the present invention, moreover, the space holding means is a bar-shaped member formed integrally with the upper and lower guide rails on respective rear ends of the upper and lower guide rails on an insertion terminating side of the substrate.
In the substrate mounting apparatus according to the present invention, furthermore, the upper guide groove of the upper guide rail is opened on a substrate insertion port side of the electronic circuit unit frame and a lower side, the lower guide groove of the lower guide rail is opened on the substrate insertion port side and an upper side and the upper and lower guide grooves are provided with a slant portion such that the substrate insertion port side is widened.
The present invention provides a substrate mounting apparatus comprising an electronic circuit unit frame for accommodating a removable substrate provided with electronic parts in a predetermined mounting position, a lower guide rail having a lower guide groove provided from a substrate insertion port of the electronic circuit unit frame to the vicinity of the mounting position and fixed to a bottom face portion of the electronic circuit unit frame, and an upper guide rail having an upper guide groove provided from the substrate insertion port to the vicinity of the mounting position and supported on an upper face portion of the electronic circuit unit frame movably toward the lower guide rail side in a lower part by a self-weight, wherein a groove side wall of the upper guide groove is formed integrally with the upper guide rail and is moved together with the upper guide rail.
In the substrate mounting apparatus according to the present invention, moreover, the upper guide rail has a substrate insertion port side and a substrate insertion terminating side supported vertically movably on the upper face portion of the electronic circuit unit frame.
In the substrate mounting apparatus according to the present invention, furthermore, the upper guide rail has one of the substrate insertion port side and the substrate insertion terminating side supported rotatably on the upper face portion of the electronic circuit unit frame and the other formed arcuately movably toward the lower guide rail side.
The present invention provides a substrate mounting apparatus comprising an electronic circuit unit frame for accommodating a removable substrate provided with electronic parts in a predetermined mounting position, a connecting portion positioned in the vicinity of an internal side wall of the electronic circuit unit frame facing in an insertion direction of the substrate to form the mounting position and causing the substrate to be removably mounted thereon, an upper guide rail having an upper guide groove provided from a substrate insertion port of the electronic circuit unit frame to the vicinity of the mounting position and provided in an upper face portion of the electronic circuit unit frame, a lower guide rail having a lower guide groove portion provided from the substrate insertion port to the vicinity of the mounting position and provided in a bottom face portion of the electronic circuit unit frame, and energizing means for energizing one of the upper and lower guide rails toward the other, wherein one of the upper and lower guide rails which is energized by the energizing means is supported vertically movably on the electronic circuit unit frame and formed movably together with a groove side wall of the guide groove laterally supporting an edge portion of the substrate and the upper and lower guide rails are provided to have a predetermined distance with the connecting portion.
In the substrate mounting apparatus according to the present invention, the upper guide rail is supported on the upper face portion of the electronic circuit unit frame to be movable toward the lower guide rail side in a lower part, the lower guide rail is fixed to the bottom face portion of the electronic circuit unit frame, and the energizing means is a first spring member engaged with the upper guide rail and the upper face portion for energizing the upper guide rail toward the lower guide rail side.
In the substrate mounting apparatus according to the present invention, the upper guide rail has one of front and rear ends supported rotatably on the upper face portion of the electronic circuit unit frame and the other formed arcuately movably toward the lower guide rail side.
In the substrate mounting apparatus according to the present invention, the upper guide rail is fixed to the upper face portion of the electronic circuit unit frame, the lower guide rail is supported on the bottom face portion of the electronic circuit unit frame movably toward the upper guide rail side in an upper part, and the energizing means is a second spring member engaged with the lower guide rail and the bottom face portion for energizing the lower guide rail toward the upper guide rail side.
In the substrate mounting apparatus according to the present invention, the lower guide rail has one of front and rear ends supported rotatably on the bottom face portion of the electronic circuit unit frame and the other formed arcuately movably toward the upper guide rail side.
In the substrate mounting apparatus according to the present invention, the upper guide groove of the upper guide rail is opened on a substrate insertion port side of the electronic circuit unit frame and a lower side, the lower guide groove of the lower guide rail is opened on the substrate insertion port side and an upper side and the upper and lower guide grooves are provided with a slant portion such that the substrate insertion port side is widened.